Exercise Can Make You Smarter

Exercise can have a wonderful impact on our health. Did you also know regular exercise can increase your intelligence as well?

Exercise is known to affect vitality, alertness, mood and an overall feeling of well-being. But did you know it can also dramatically improve mental clarity?

If anything the pure mindfulness that exercise allows is in and of itself a great benefit to our condition. Many of us go about our day in an almost autopilot mode where we are functioning in the present moment yet drawing most of our focus on future events. Getting stressed about bills, work, drive home, ect. All of this is flooding our system with unnecessary cortisol levels that deeply impact negatively our health.

There is a sense of empowerment that exercise creates. A growth not just in a physical way but in a deeply emotional way. Have you ever left the gym feeling great about yourself? I bet you have. I am willing to assume that happens more often to you then days you leave your other daily tasks having spent energy in them, such as work.

When you exercise you stimulate the growth of new brain cells which can prevent a number of age related neuro-degenerative diseases. The endorphins released as you push through each exercise will not only reduce the perception of pain but stabilize your blood pressure as well. Better blood flow to the brain is very beneficial.

Keeping a steady habit of exercise throughout the week can increase neural plasticity as well as positive alterations in gene expressions within the brain. The longer you keep at it the more you will see an increase in:

Neuron Growth

Increased neurological activity

Improved stress coping

Enhanced cognitive control over behavior

Improved declarative and working memory

Structural and functional improvements in brain structure and pathways that are linked to cognitive control and memory

This is wonderful when reflecting on the improvements found in not only academics for the young but better quality of life all the way through old age. A lot of this is due to the benefits provided through exercise of increased production of neutrophic factors, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor), and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor).

Athletes often experience and increased size of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus generally through neurogenesis which is the volume increase in that grey matter in your noggin. When more grey matter of the brain exists you often see the benefit of improved spatial memory which is responsible for recording information about ones environment.

All these benefits and more when you refuse to hit the snooze button on the alarm and get your butt into the gym. So why not make this a habit as early in your day as possible. What a great way to start your day?

I hope you found this article on 3 Top Fat Burning Foods to Lose Weight helpful.

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